


Murphy's Law

by UntappedChaos



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Drama & Romance, F/M, Family Drama, Humor, Inuyasha Swears A Lot, My Hero Academy AU, Romantic Comedy, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2018-12-27 03:59:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 9,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12073080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UntappedChaos/pseuds/UntappedChaos
Summary: “We thought Murphy’s Law WAS my quirk until the real one kicked in,” she deadpanned.Higurashi Kagome is a pediatrician, and the embodiment of Murphy's Law — all that can go wrong, will.  She's lived with this awareness all her life.  Then she meets Taishou Sesshoumaru, the hospital's CEO... and between her friends, his brother, and old family dirt like no other, there might be a happy ending in there somewhere.  Maybe.





	1. Murphy's Law is my Other Quirk

**Author's Note:**

> I thought this was a oneshot, and then I realized nope, I'm just going to break it into lots of tiny chapters like forthright. *v*
> 
> Therefore: all the chapters are short. They somewhat meander. This is a very casual story where I have fun with a MHA AU. 8D

It was one of  _ those _ days.  It was a day where if it was going to go wrong at all, Murphey’s Law was going to kick into fucking  _ overdrive _ .   Higurashi Kagome breathed and mentally tallied the day’s incidents as she tried to calm down.

She had overslept — by three hours.  Accompanied by loss of her contacts case, snags in all the stockings she could find, and an unholy Armageddon of roaches showing up in her cheap-ass new apartment’s kitchen.

This led to missing half of her entire first day as a new pediatrician at the local hospital.  Her (literally) fire-breathing boss had nearly set the whole ward on fire as she violently lectured the importance of punctuality, and several children in with casts and stitches undid all the healing they’d managed in the ensuing panic.  Kagome was scolded for  _ that _ , too.

Then, oh  _ then _ was the cherry on top: the hospital’s current CEO, the infamous hero and surgeon Taishou Sesshoumaru, had descended down from his throne of gold  _ just to demand her presence in his office at once _ , lest she be busted down to pushing book carts for the next decade or two.

Thus she stood, fingers pinching at the bridge of her nose, breathing deeeeep, cleansing breaths in an attempt to calm down before entering his lair.  Two.  Three.  Four.  Five. Six. Seven.  Ei-

“Loitering is prohibited.  Enter before your job is evacuated as your ward was.”

Not sure whether she wanted him to see just  _ how much _ she hated him and everything else in that moment or not, Kagome marched through the door and closed in solidly behind her, face set in a disdained grimace that was attempting to look neutral.  With his fingers steepled imperiously above his paperwork, he examined her from behind reading spectacles she highly suspected he did not need.

“Six hours late, the ward set fire to and evacuated, and nearly a dozen patients set back months in their care.  Your first day is not promoting you well, Higurashi-sensei.”

Doing her best  _ not _ to reply through gritted teeth, she responded succinctly, “Murphey’s Law is my other quirk.”

He arched a brow.  She obliged him an explanation.  “My quirk is Chakra Management; however, my bad luck powers are strong.  People have said Murphy's Law was my other quirk since before I can even remember.”

“... That’s your defense.”

“We thought Murphy’s Law  _ was _ my quirk until the real one kicked in,” she deadpanned.  His face read  _ You must be joking _ , so she pulled out her phone, opened her Facebook app, and proceeded to scroll through a timeline full of memes… of her, in various levels of fail.  “I ended up a thing, if you can’t tell.”

_ That Day when even Satan Pities You _ was typed in large block font over one particular picture, in which she stood soaking wet in a swimsuit at the front of class  with the teacher chewing her out over… failure to understand a math problem?

“... Tell me the story one day.”

With a tired sigh he waved her out.


	2. Just Keep Smiling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Higurashi Kagome was a fucking tank when it came to bad situations. She just plowed through and kept on.

Kagome did indeed prove herself.

Now that first day might have been a disaster — and it took less than a week for new Higurashi Memes to start perforating the office — but despite Murphy’s Law, she proved herself an exemplary practitioner.  She was quick, efficient, precise, and absolutely unflappable no matter how ridiculous the situation.

Like explaining to adults that yes, sometimes there are toddlers that masturbate.  Like when a budding artist drew skulls and crossbones all over a chart.  Like when a precocious child with less-than-sufficient parental supervision shat in her chair, peed in her coffee — and when none of  _ those _ got her, proceeded to puke down the front of her blouse.

Higurashi Kagome was a fucking  _ tank _ when it came to bad situations.  She just plowed through and kept on.

Sesshoumaru observed a new meme crawling about the office — “Murphy’s Rainbow,” a compiled picture of Higurashi’s multitude of  _ Keep Calm, Carry On _ mugs in a ridiculous range of colors.  Few colors had been repeated, from what his receptionist said.  Despite an apparent aptitude for trouble, Sesshoumaru had no choice but to recognize his new pediatrician’s positive attitude was nigh perfect.

Of course, then he had the privilege to hear her muttering “Just keep smiling, smiling,  _ smiling _ …” through gritted teeth one day — to the tune of  _ Just Keep Swimming _ , at that — and he thought that probably revealed her nature very well.


	3. On a Random Day of the Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several months after she started at the Taishou Private Hospital, Taishou Sesshoumaru really did come and ask her story about the swimsuit meme.

Several months after she started at the Taishou Private Hospital, Taishou Sesshoumaru really _did_ come and ask her story about the swimsuit meme.

“Oh, that was one of my _best_ ,” she said sarcastically, heaving a sigh and slumping back in her breakroom chair.  “See, there was this guy _Houjou_ that practically all the girls were swoony for in middle school.  He had his eye on me though, and the bullying was getting out of hand just about then.”

Sesshoumaru didn’t comment on the bullying, but she noticed that almost imperceptible downturn of the lips that signaled he was listening, and didn’t like the idea.

“So random day of the — wait, was that a Thursday?  Probably Thursday.  So we had swimming for PE that day, and I go back to my locker where lo and behold, my uniform had gone missing.  No matter how I told the teacher that it was stolen, my rep as Murphy’s Law incarnate was pretty solid, so he insisted I lost it.  The guy was an ass, but at least he wasn’t a perv; still made me attend the rest of the day in my swimsuit, and I was called for in class but my math notes were covered in so many cuss words and death threats I couldn’t read them anymore, so when I tried to freehand the problem and made a mistake he got mad at me.”  She took a deep gulp of coffee, and continued neutrally with, “That was one of at least three times in middle school I was nearly assaulted.  I’m not going to count high school because we’d never leave if I did.”

For someone being so white-skinned already, Kagome almost thought it hilarious she could tell he’d gone pale.

“My condolences.”


	4. Is the Doctor In?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re going to have to give me a name, sir.”
> 
> “... wait, you’re new. Right. Is That Bastard Sesshoumaru in?”

“Is the bastard in?”

Kagome twitched, breathed deep, and turned to level the flattest glare she owned at the young man with incredibly long, luxurious, black hair that now stared her down with the best scowl she’d seen in a while.  At his side, a girl at the height of cuteness was humming and rocking back and forth, distracted by the paintings on the walls.

“You’re going to have to give me a  _ name _ , sir.”

“... wait, you’re new.  Right.  Is  _ That Bastard Sesshoumaru _ in?”

“He is not.”

“...”

“...”

“I can hear his voice, bitch.”

“If you say one more cuss word in my ward I swear to the gods I’m going to toss you from my office window and watch you fall.”


	5. Quirky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Realizing that Sesshoumaru’s brother was of the same quirk had her curious.

Realizing that Sesshoumaru’s brother was of the same quirk had her curious.

“Taishou-sensei, what  _ is  _ your quirk?” she asked, yet another break where he joined her.  He seemed to consider her for a moment.

“We have a possession-type quirk known as Dog General.  As far as we are aware, our father was the first to manifest it.”

“The difference in appearance?”

“Childhood trauma.”  She pursed her lips, contemplating him.  When his golden eyes met hers, he sighed, “Yes?”

“... No, it’s just hard to imagine anything traumatizing you.”


	6. Like Uncle Like Niece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin was Inuyasha’s daughter, and she was adorable to the nth power squared. Her speech was polite with a touch of lisp, her energy contained in fidgets and rocking until she was given her code words: Free Time.

Rin was Inuyasha’s daughter, and she was adorable to the nth power squared.  Her speech was polite with a touch of lisp, her energy contained in fidgets and rocking until she was given her code words: Free Time.

Free Time was literally  _ free, go do what the hell ever _ time in Inuyasha’s dictionary, which meant she could play pranks or run parkour or do  _ whatever she wanted _ within that period of time.

Rin’s problem was that her Dog General quirk supplied too much energy she was never able to release.  The nervous energy built up inside her so much that she would have trouble sleeping, and sitting still in school was almost impossible.  She didn’t have trouble paying attention though; Kagome tested that.  She could be running full-speed circles around the physical therapy room, be all the way on the other side when Kagome asked a question, and Rin would still answer properly while never slowing.

Sesshoumaru supplied that Rin was the first female with the quirk; adults found this sort of behavior normal in boys, but highly questionable in girls, and it had put Inuyasha and his wife, Kikyou, in all sorts of uncomfortable positions.  Rin never lamented her father’s quirk though; great admiration for her Uncle Sesshoumaru had assured that.

Kagome tried to apply her quirk to managing Rin’s energy, but it resulted in a dreadful fever.  She didn’t try again.


	7. Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I want to know,” she admitted firmly, “but it’s not your story to tell. If he’s not willing to tell the truth, that’s the line he’s drawn.”

Inuyasha was surprisingly sociable.  His vocabulary and temper aside, he had friends and went out and doted on his circle in a roundabout rough-n-gruff sort of way.  Kagome found that while threats did not work, actions did; it really  _ had _ come to tossing him out a window at one point, but then the bastard had proved the Dog General a more impressive quirk than she realized when he casually hopped from the flagpole to the opposite roof.

Still, out of respect for her vigor and making good on her threats, the cursing stopped — mostly.  The odd one still filtered out when he wasn’t paying attention.

“So you and Kikyou…?”

“Work my old man’s charity foundation.  We try to provide training and emotional support to brats in the system that have dangerous quirks.  Since they don’t have folks to fall back on, they always need somewhere else to run,” he said, sipping on a cold, coffee-ish drink.

“Never would’ve thought it of you.”

“Keh.”  She observed him quietly for a moment.  His ears twitched a little, as if she grated on his nerves by doing so, and they turned a little red.  “What?”

“I’d normally ask Taishou-sensei this since I’m the direct type, but I’ll ask you instead I guess.  When I questioned his coloring in comparison to yours—”

“He gave you some line about it being childhood trauma, didn’t he.”  Inuyasha made a face and scratched behind the ear she’d been observing.  “He lied.  Really, it’s because—”

“No, don’t tell me.”

“I thought you were—”

“I want to know,” she admitted firmly, “but it’s not your story to tell.  If he’s not willing to tell the truth, that’s the line he’s drawn.”

She didn’t bring the subject up again.


	8. Plucky Duck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dude, imagine your pups. If this is a quirk, the world might implode with the next generation.”

“Y’know, Murphy-sensei’s pretty cool.”

“Who?”

Sesshoumaru found himself neatly flummoxed, a rarity even when his brother  _ wasn’t _ the instigator.  The overgrown brat had the gall to  _ snicker _ .

“C’mon, who else would be called some foreign-sounding name like  _ Murphy _ ?”

_ None but Higurashi, of course. _

“What makes you say so?” he asked, ignoring the sarcasm.  Inuyasha was perched on the edge of Sesshoumaru’s home office desk, chewing on a most fragrant piece of jerky.  He didn’t really turn to meet eyes, so Sesshoumaru simply resumed his work… at least until Inuyasha answered.

“Plucky wench asked me if you lied to her or not about your ‘childhood trauma’ excuse.”

Pen frozen above the paper, it took all of three seconds for normal function to start returning… just barely,  _ barely _ enough to ask, “What did you—?”

“I told her you lied.”  Sesshoumaru made to protest, but Inuyasha waved him off with a, “Aww, c’mon, don’t get your panties in a wad.  I said she was  _ cool _ for a reason.”

“Just because she doesn’t  _ react— _ ”

“She can’t react if she doesn’t  _ know _ , bastard.”

Sesshoumaru took a minute to mull that over, observing his practically  _ preening _ little brother.  It occurred to him that they were on strangely good circumstances now, their introduction considered.  It was rare of Inuyasha to  _ really _ take to someone, much less praise them.

“What did she do?”

Inuyasha turned to lean close, face just inches away, and said in a plain, low voice, “She refused to hear it from  _ me _ , because she wants to hear it from  _ you _ .  Said ‘If he’s not willing to tell the truth, that’s the line he’s drawn.’  Ain’t you lucky.”

“... She really said that?” he inquired softly.  Inuyasha smirked.

“Exactly that.  She’s really something.”

“Especially when you love spreading my sordid past around.”

“The fact you can call it sordid without cringing means you’ve grown up inside quite a bit, don’t it,” Inuyasha joked, but Sesshoumaru couldn’t deny it.

In the past, he wouldn’t have wanted to hear any part of this conversation.  It would’ve sent him into such a tailspin.  It would’ve made him a ruin of a man for weeks.  He had to admit, the relationship with Inuyasha is what had (ever so begrudgingly, mind you) started to mend him.

“What do you think she’d say if she knew Murphy’s Law applied to you, too?”

The barking laugh was a perfect response, the brothers grinning sardonically at the circumstances, sharing a dark in-joke they both wish they didn’t have.  Still, Sesshoumaru felt confident enough, for the first time in his life, to say, “I don’t think I have it nearly so badly as she does.”

“Dude, imagine your pups.  If this  _ is  _  a quirk, the world might implode with the next generation.”

Sesshoumaru didn’t dignify that with an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having so much fun with these short chapters. ;v; It's so easy to just write this story a little at a time, enjoying the snippets, weaving together a story without killing my brain to make it something over-grand. I can jot them down on drawing breaks and it's wonderful. *v*
> 
> Hope y'all will continue to stick around for more chapters~ ^7^/


	9. Practice May not Make Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next thing she knew, Kagome was trying parkour with the rest of the young potentials in Rin’s class… and oh, if there was a way to fail, she was doing it.
> 
> Run into the wall? Check.
> 
> Fall off the fence? Check.
> 
> Face-plant into a window? Check. A few times.

Kagome needed something to keep her in shape; it was a new town, her force-fed ballet classes far behind her, and she wanted something  _ useful _ … and hearing that litany, Sesshoumaru might (might, mind you) have called in Rin, who wielded the most irresistible puppy eyes in the world.  The next thing she knew, Kagome was trying parkour with the rest of the young potentials in Rin’s class… and oh, if there was a way to fail, she was doing it.

Run into the wall? Check.

Fall off the fence? Check.

Face-plant into a window? Check.  A few times.

After her third time falling off a low beam they used for practice, the instructor may have politely asked her to do some balance training and come back.  She  _ may _ have responded to the tune of, “Does twelve years of ballet sound like balance training?”

He may or may not have gone ghostly pale and suggested she try less dangerous activities.  Like knitting.

“Knitting is not exercise.”

“Yoga?”

“...”

“...  Tai Chi?”

“... know anyone?”

“Let me get you the number.”


	10. Keep Calm and...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On Monday she used yellow. On Tuesday it was orange. Wednesday was blue, Thursday green, and Friday was an indescribable and somehow offensive shade of purple.
> 
> When he mentioned this to Inuyasha, he asked if Sesshoumaru was referring to Kagome’s underwear before being shown a picture of Murphy’s Rainbow.

On Monday she used yellow.  On Tuesday it was orange.  Wednesday was blue, Thursday green, and Friday was an indescribable and somehow offensive shade of purple.

When he mentioned this to Inuyasha, he asked if Sesshoumaru was referring to Kagome’s underwear before being shown a picture of Murphy’s Rainbow.

The next week it was a monochromatic journey of pinks, the following a study in popular textile patterns, and the last week of the month looked like she’d introduced her cabinet to Texas as _every single mug_ held at least four mugs’ worth of coffee, all in unabashedly bright colors.

Every single one of them inscribed with variously designed text reading _Keep Calm and Carry On_.

Sesshoumaru had unconsciously been tallying how many cups were in the Murphy Rainbow, and had come to the conclusion that Higurashi Kagome somehow managed to horde over seventy mugs (he counted seventy-three in all) in her apartment, which Inuyasha told him was the size of a shoebox.

Why Inuyasha knew such a thing he had _no idea_ , but did his best to ignore the thought with vigor.

Higurashi Kagome had now worked at the hospital for almost three years, and where once he had wondered at her competence, Sesshoumaru was now proud to call her the head of their pediatrics ward.

One could not describe how the celebration had gone on after that mummified old hag Urasue finally left her post, declaring that she’d had enough of “Black cats wandering the halls and causing all sorts of misfortune.”  Even the children had joined in the celebration, boys doing wheelies in their chairs and girls tossing confetti made of complaint letters.  Kagome’s promotion was a unanimous vote, and Sesshoumaru had no reason to stop it.

Their relationship involved mostly coffee breaks and occasional dinners with Inuyasha and RIn en tow, but Sesshoumaru felt obligated this year to purchase her a birthday present.  It was her third birthday in his acquaintance, and while the first had happened when neither of them had much to do with the other and the second when they were just starting to get along, this birthday was not one to be missed.

This was the sort of thought that inspired him to observe his… friend… more closely than ever.  Murphy’s Law, pediatrician, and mugs seemed to sum her up, and figuring out something to get her with just that seemed so difficult.

Several days before the date that had him so worried, he still hadn’t managed to decide on a gift; it was then that Rin made a most excellent observation.

“Kagome-sensei, do you have so many mugs because you lose them?”

Ever the bastion of unflappable clumsiness, Kagome choked on her third coffee of the day, patted her lips with a handkerchief, and responded, “You noticed, huh.  Yup; sensei is unbearably clumsy, so she’s always breaking, misplacing or somehow just plain _losing_ her cups.”

“How many do you have?” Rin continued to question, still casually coloring away.  Kagome seemed to think about it for a minute, fingers ticking away as if to count.

“Right now, I think there are about ten survivors.  I’ll have to pick up a few more next payday.”

So the big day arrived, and and Sesshoumaru dropped a long, somewhat heavy wooden box across the length of her desk.  Kagome stared at the box neutrally for a moment before turning a suspicious gaze toward her superior.

“I take it there’s a reason for this?”

Sesshoumaru wanted to tear his hair out, but with a bit more red in his cheeks than usual (he’d _never_ admit it), he tapped a claw-tipped finger on her desktop calendar.  She continued to stare at it blankly.

“Higurashi, _your birthday_.”

“... is next month?”

He paused.  Double checked his watch and her calendar, and sure enough he’d presented her gift a month early.  Her eyes took on an amused sparkle as she realized what he’d done; instead of incessantly teasing him though, she proceeded to pull the lid off the box before her, ignoring his attempts at protest.

Inside were a line of mugs; five patterned in red, stylistic flowers with the words _Keep Calm and Carry On_.

The last two, plain off-white with simple arrow silhouettes, said _Namast’ay In Bed._

“You’re only allowed to use the last two on the weekends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An accidentally long chapter. XD It's still much shorter than if I had written it more seriously, but it was so much fun. ;v;


	11. Newbies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a fresh influx of interns in May came a new kink in the hospital’s works. Their names were Nishino Sango and Shinooka Miroku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally realized that this story was missing Sango and Miroku. So now we have them.
> 
> I don't think Sess and Kags are nearly as thrilled about this as I am right now. XD

With a fresh influx of interns in May came a new kink in the hospital’s works.  Their names were Nishino Sango and Shinooka Miroku.

Sango was a new surgeon; she showed promise, was precise, quick, and had a no-nonsense attitude that Sesshoumaru highly approved of.

Miroku was a new nurse, and Kagome found that thwarting his egregious behavior with the fairer sex was going to become a new mainstay of her job if she was going to keep him.  His abilities as a diagnostician, while not developed, were astounding; his hand was steady with a needle, and he indeed had the patience of Buddha (unsurprisingly, as his house was a monastery).

Putting the two of them in a room, however, often led to  _ catastrophic _ results.

Verbal jabs aside, they had, for the third time in as many meetings, found it necessary to  _ physically restrain _ Sango from beating Miroku’s head in.  Sesshoumaru was already fairly certain that no matter how many warnings the nurse was given, his habits would not change.  Kagome approved of Sango’s ability to stand up for herself, but breaking hospital property (including the nursing staff) was still a no-no.

Thus, for the first time, Sesshoumaru and Kagome decided they would have to combine their strengths and plot to save the hospital’s future… and Miroku’s life, if they were honest.


	12. Collared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Higurashi-sensei… you can’t be serious…?”
> 
> “If you have any questions or concerns, please bring it up with myself or Taishou-sama.”

Miroku tugged nervously at the collar around his neck.  Sango stared at the little key fob in her hand, completely expressionless.

“Now, Shinooka-san, we  _ have _ lowered the output of this particular device,” Kagome said calmly, smiling in a way that brooked no argument.  “You will be acting as Nishino-sensei’s  _ closest assistant _ for the next three months.  If she is offended by your behavior, that shock collar’s remote is in her hand, officially attached to her photo ID.  If the remote goes missing, our  _ generous _ CEO Taishou-sama has agreed to replace it at the cost of the hospital.  Nishino-sensei, we ask that you apply this manner of behavioral correction with all discretion; please be fair in your judgments.”

“Higurashi-sensei… you can’t be serious…?”

“If you have any questions or concerns, please bring it up with myself or Taishou-sama.”


	13. Pretty Women

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Violet puppy-eyes turned to the young man, baleful as they could possibly be. “You are a cruel friend. The lovely Kikyou-sama is wasted on you.”

Miroku slumped into a corner of the break room, releasing a sigh long and desperate enough to send happiness running for the hills.  Inuyasha casually sipped his coffee, waiting for a Rin’s checkup to end.

“Sango giving you that much hell?”

“The lovely Nishino-san threatens me for so much as calling her delightful name, Inuyasha.  I am most distraught.”

“Can’t say I sympathize.”

Violet puppy-eyes turned to the young man, baleful as they could possibly be.  “You are a cruel friend.  The lovely Kikyou-sama is wasted on you.”

Thirty seconds of heavy silence later, he said, “I am sorry.  That was out of line.”


	14. Doctoria Domesticus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome tapped her chin as she observed Miroku and Sango, now a month and a half into their “partnership.” Sango was cool as could be, and Miroku somehow continued to smile like an idiot. She half expected it to be Sango blaming him for more indiscretions and Miroku laughing them off in his way.

Kagome tapped her chin as she observed Miroku and Sango, now a month and a half into their “partnership.”  Sango was cool as could be, and Miroku somehow continued to smile like an idiot.  She half expected it to be Sango blaming him for more indiscretions and Miroku laughing them off in his way.  Instead…

“Nishino-sensei, now I know his condition concerns you, but your surgical techniques were impeccable.  I wager a good coffee from that cafe you love that the fever will break in twenty-four hours.  He’ll be pestering the nurses for pudding by tomorrow afternoon, and in three days I see him drawing skulls and crossbones all over Kagome-sama’s charts again.”  Sango continued to sit somewhat stubbornly outside the recovery room, and Miroku kneeled in front of her with a big smile on his face, hands securely on the charts in his arms.  “You will see, I promise.  For now, these divine hands of yours have a patient in OR 3 that needs his kidney operation.  I will check with the floor leader here every hour if it will ease your mind, but away we must.”

“... every thirty minutes.”

Kagome left knowing that somehow, Miroku had won.

A moment of contemplation later, a strangled cry followed by a belligerent “Perv!” let her know that Sango was far from domesticated yet.


	15. Gimme a Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Now see, that wasn’t so bad was it?”
> 
> Sesshoumaru could swear that was one of the most well-used — and most suspicious — lines he heard from the mouth of Shinooka Miroku.

“Now see, that wasn’t so bad was it?”

Sesshoumaru could swear that was one of the most well-used — and most suspicious — lines he heard from the mouth of Shinooka Miroku.    He snuck a glance around the corner to see Nishino Sango, pouting in a way he had never thought possible, being waltzed down the corridor on Miroku’s arm.

“You’re terrible.”

“How so?”

“You trapped me into a date, for starters.”

“Now,  _ you _ are the one declaring it a date, my dear.  I only made a bet for a coffee.”

Her pout turned into a sulk.  “Which turned into coffee and pie, and even though you won you still paid for me.”

Miroku patted the hand threaded through his arm indulgently.  “Now, now, what sort of man would I be if I let a lady pay?  I am many things, my lady, but never so boorish as that.”

Sango gave him a side-eye the likes of which he hoped to never see again, and stated with a familiarly belligerent tone, “Your tendency to touch far overreaches boorish.”

She didn’t remove her hand from his arm though, and the two continued to walk down the hall in a strange sort of companionship.  Sesshoumaru wondered if this was what Kagome had in mind when she’d handed Sango the leash, but there was no accounting for accidents, either.


	16. Mirrors on Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One night, after a long shift, Sesshoumaru decided to offer Kagome some advice. “Kikyou uses a mirror.”

Kagome had taken to sulking in Sesshoumaru’s office on occasion.  The Iron Doctor had a limit after all; and some days instead of waiting until she made it home, she just stalked into his office, huddled behind the perfunctory fake ficus tree in the corner, and started chiding and crying and occasionally screaming into a pillow she pilfered from the nurses’ station.

One night, after a long shift, Sesshoumaru decided to offer Kagome some advice.  “Kikyou uses a mirror.”

She stopped yelling into the pillow.  “What for?”

“She would yell at the mirror as if it were the person who angered her.  She would reason with it, say anything she could not bring herself to say in person.  Inuyasha said it would go on for hours sometimes; she would talk to the mirror, walk away, come back.  It could take days for something to get out of her system on occasion, but it would eventually go away.  She would feel much better.”

Kagome seemed to think about that for a while.  She continued gripping the pillow, and Sesshoumaru continued filtering through his paperwork.

“ _ Would _ ?” she finally asked.  

Sesshoumaru’s lips thinned, though she couldn’t see it, and eventually, he answered, “He said so a long time ago.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huzzah! New chapters!
> 
> Also, this is actually the venting method I use; I'm always venting at mirrors, yelling at people or laying out arguments I wish I could give in person. =v=;


	17. Schemer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first dinner alone was nothing short of a scheme, as Inuyasha said they would all go out and celebrate Sesshoumaru’s birthday. Instead, he arrived at the restaurant with Higurashi on his arm, only to realize the reservation was for two at an outside table overlooking the bay.

Their first dinner alone was nothing short of a scheme, as Inuyasha said they would  _ all _ go out and celebrate Sesshoumaru’s birthday.  Instead, he arrived at the restaurant with Higurashi on his arm, only to realize the reservation was for two at an outside table overlooking the bay.

“You won’t resent me if I throw Inuyasha out my office window again, will you?” she asked solemnly.

“I will not,” he confirmed, still pulling out the chair for her and helping her scoot in once she was perched.  “I believe this is his declaration that we are not close enough for his taste.”

“What sort of taste is that?” she asked with a grimace.

“The taste that says I’ve been single for too long and insists he wants nieces and nephews to dote on.” 

She considered that statement as well as the wine menu, eventually giving in and saying, “When I first met him, I never would have considered Inuyasha being fond of children.  He’s great with Rin, but…”

“But he still acts as juvenile as the youth of our school days?”

“Yes,  _ exactly _ .  What am I missing?” she asked, helping herself to a breadstick.  The waiter came, received their drink orders, and left unobtrusively.  “He loves kids even if he acts like he doesn’t. He’s actually super together for his age… wait, how old is Inuyasha?  He’s friends with Shinooka-kun, so I assumed they were the same age, but… Rin’s what, ten? That can’t be right.”

The waiter returned, chill-fogged glasses of water and impeccable crystal wine glasses filled with something deep and red finding their ways onto delicate coasters.  Sesshoumaru quietly ordered for the both of them, choosing foods that suited their drink choice and were just expensive enough that Kagome wouldn’t have had the courage to order them herself.  When the waiter took his leave again, the silence dragged on for a long while. Kagome thought he wouldn’t ever answer her, and was on the verge of changing the subject when she finally saw signs of Sesshoumaru’s struggle to get the words out.

It still took another ten minutes, past the time their food came, past another refill on both their glasses, for him to answer.

“It is… something of an additional quirk.  Not a separate one; just a… residual effect, if you will,” he tried, clearly avoiding a great lot of detail.  She could see him swallow discreetly, and her lips thinned at how he struggled with the subject. “Our line is…”

Noting how he trailed off, struggling again, Kagome sighed and placed her fork beside her empty plate.  “Taishou-san, if it makes you so uneasy, I won’t ask. You don’t have to tell me. I will place a question mark next to ‘Age’ in all three of your files up here,” she said, lips quirking in a gentle smile as she tapped her temple.  “My discretion is yours for the using, but if you’re not ready, there’s hardly a reason to rush.”

There  _ was _ a reason to rush.  Inuyasha knew that, and he was pushing it.  This was his less-than-subtle hint that time was a commodity they  _ especially _ could not afford to waste.

The words just wouldn’t come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided that Murphy's Law will be 50 chapters in length. Now to contemplate pacing to make sure it happens well...
> 
> Tell me guys, what are your theories? I'm trying not to show my hand just yet, but I don't know how well I'm doing. QvQ


	18. Comfort in Familiarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome had a sneaking suspicion that her boss — something like unprofessionally, unofficially almost-dating good friends, not that that had a specific label — was not aware that his little brother and niece were nigh-permanent fixtures in her apartment.

Kagome had a sneaking suspicion that her boss — something like unprofessionally, unofficially almost-dating good friends, not that  _ that _ had a specific label — was not aware that his little brother and niece were nigh-permanent fixtures in her apartment.

It felt strange when the casual birthday dinner had been just days ago, but here they were.  Kagome continued to question just how close she was to this family, as clearly they felt more comfortable with her than she’d realized.

She knew the basics, at this point.  Inuyasha’s wife, Kikyou, had passed. It had been a long time coming.  They were grieving in their way, but as the man currently sprawled upside-down on her couch had put it, “You provide the distracting entertainment.  How many times do lost delivery boys come to your door a night again?”

Neither of them was crying.  In fact, they looked like they were basking in her presence which was  _ unnerving as hell dammit _ but she wasn’t going to stop them.  If her consistent stream of misfortunes was giving off a healing aura, who was she to argue?  So instead of trying to induce the tears she thought they should be shedding, she allowed Rin to help her locate the multitudes of missing pieces to Murphy’s Rainbow, allowed Inuyasha to occasionally embarrass her by finding her underwear that liked to evaporate not unlike her mugs, and taught them both the mystic art of roach-busting… an unfortunate fact of life, as her neighbor was a hoarder and possessed of many cats.

Her suspicion, however, was corrected; another week in, Taishou-san himself showed up on her doorstep, overnight bag in-hand.  Together, the three of them curled up on the living room floor in a pile of pillows, quilts, and long hair.

Her worries were also corrected when a late-night ramble to the kitchen saw all three of them crying in their sleep.


	19. To Be and Not to Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, the courage it had taken, but when working with Miroku on rounds that afternoon, she’d asked him about Kikyou. About why, on the gods’ green earth, the Taishou family was enjoying an extended vacation on her living room floor.

Kagome stared at herself in the mirror.

Oh, the courage it had taken, but when working with Miroku on rounds that afternoon, she’d asked him about Kikyou.  About why, on the gods’ green earth, the Taishou family was enjoying an extended vacation on her living room floor. The solemn press of his lips was unnerving on a face that normally laughed off everything (except Sango’s ire, and sometimes even that), but she found the answer… informative.

Apparently, she looked like Kikyou.  A lot. A very, very lot.

So when she went home that night to Inuyasha busting roaches and Rin helping Sesshoumaru make dinner to the backdrop of some anime on TV, she stepped into the kitchen and helped.  She was Higurashi Kagome.

She would only ever  _ be _ Higurashi Kagome.

They ate.  They joked.  They shared the duties of washing the dishes and tidying small messes, and all of them worked together to lay the extra futons on the floor with a fortress’ worth of blankets and pillows, and once the light was out, Kagome surprised them all by slipping into the pile between Sesshoumaru and Rin.

_ Kagome _ left them speechless when she kissed each of one of them on the forehead, including Sesshoumaru.

“I am  _ Higurashi Kagome _ ,” she stated with a quiet imperiousness.  “I’m not Kikyou, even if I look like her. But I  _ am _ here for you.  I’ve got no intention of going anywhere, so get used to it.”

Rin crumbled into quiet sobs, hugging Kagome for dear life as she settled onto the mattress.  Inuyasha wrapped his arms around both of them silently, face drenched in grief.

At her back was Sesshoumaru; and though she couldn’t see his face, she could feel his touch at her hip.  She could feel the nose that tucked into her hair, breathing steady as a heartbeat. She knew, without ever looking at him, that her words were exactly what they needed to set them free.


	20. Girl Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome had to admit, she was surprised. Sango asking her out for coffee was odd enough, but here they sat, sipping their drinks at the surgeon’s favorite spot, and the young woman had hardly spoken two words before blurting, “Is it against hospital policy for me to be involved with a coworker? Is it?! I mean, we’re… wait, can we do this off-record? Off-record girl talk, please?!"

Kagome had to admit, she was surprised.  Sango asking her out for coffee was odd enough, but here they sat, sipping their drinks at the surgeon’s favorite spot, and the young woman had hardly spoken two words before blurting, “Is it against hospital policy for me to be involved with a coworker?  Is it?! I mean, we’re… wait, can we do this off-record? Off-record girl talk, please?! I know it’s weird since we’re not exactly friends and we’re in different departments and we can probably tally the number of hours we’ve spent with each other on one hand, but I  _ really _ just—!”

“Need someone to vent to much?”

Sango turned a loud shade of pink as she snapped her mouth shut.  Kagome found herself giggling quietly. How long had it been since she’d met someone so candid?

“Are we talking about Shinooka-kun by any chance?”

The undignified squeak that escaped before Sango hid behind her coffee cup was adorable — and an answer.  “... Oh my gawsh, I must be so obvious.”

“I have no doubts that he’s completely clueless,” she opined, taking a measured sip of coffee.  “Shinooka-kun seems convinced you hate him, honestly.”

“... I don’t like that, either, but- but if I say something he’ll get unbearably cocky won’t he?” she stammered, pouting.  “He’ll start doing whatever he feels like and won’t listen to a  _ thing _ I tell him.”

“Shinooka-kun doesn’t listen to much of what anyone tells him anyway,” Kagome remarked, taking another measured sip.  Sango looked ready to bang her head against the table.

“I know.  Dammit.”

Kagome considered her quietly before telling her quietly, “Count yourself lucky though; at least he’s in a similar position.”

Sango seemed to come back to herself for a moment.  She was a critical thinker, a very logical person; her emotions could still run away with her sometimes, but at the root she was keen.  Three long, meditative breaths later, she returned, “I think your relationship with Taishou-sama is fine, regardless of your position.”

“We’re not in a relationship.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

The steady gaze that held between them was heavy,  full of weight in an unbearable way. Sango thought they were… what, dating?  Involved? Her statement didn’t read as ‘just friends,’ which Kagome would admit to.

Taking a long drink of coffee, Kagome said, “When we get back to the hospital,  I’m telling Shinooka-kun.”

The statement broke all tension as Sango turned crimson while trying not to scream, not to jump from her seat, and failing miserably at both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I messed up... but I'm trying to get on an upload schedule for Murphy's Law. ;v; Aiming to upload every Monday! (I wish AO3 had a schedule feature).


	21. Fakester

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinooka Miroku had never once given a sign of inclination to have a personal relationship with Taishou Sesshoumaru.

Shinooka Miroku had never once given a sign of inclination to have a personal relationship with Taishou Sesshoumaru.  The CEO was well aware of Inuyasha’s friendship with the man. He was all-too-familiar with how the nurse sighed and swooned over Sesshoumaru’s most favored surgeon, Nishino Sango — soon to be his chief surgeon if Jaken’s reports on the current one’s after-hours activities were true.  Sesshoumaru was even aware, in a very peripheral and determined-to-forget sort of way, that Miroku was informed of the family’s… circumstances.

Still, it had never once occurred to him that Miroku would skip Inuyasha, Kagome, and the veritable gaggle of female employees from all wings of the hospital and come to  _ him _ for advice.

“You see, I’m aware of the hospital’s stern policy on fraternization,” he emphasized in a questionable earnestness, “and I am determined to have your permission.”

Sesshoumaru refrained from sighing, dropping his head into his hands, or showing any further signs of irritation before this man.  “Shinooka, you’ll have to explain why you came to  _ me _ , first.”

He blinked owlishly, as if in genuine surprise.  “Whatever do you mean?”

“Higurashi-sensei is your direct superior,” he suggested, mentally acknowledging how much easier it would be to get her sympathies over his.  “You are also a close companion of my brother and niece; it would not me unusual for you to seek their… aid, in gaining my approval.”

He had a blinding smile, this man, and it was as fake as Monopoly money.  “Ah, but you are the chief executive officer of this lovely establishment, are you not?  I’ll not waste time beating about the bush when your office is so conveniently located.”

“It isn’t convenient when it’s on the opposite end of the hospital from the pediatrics wing.”

“True indeed, but no journey is too far for my lovely Sango.  I need your permission, my liege.”

Sesshoumaru eyed him critically.  “No, you don’t. This Sesshoumaru will not condemn any relationship of genuine meaning at this hospital.  You  _ do _ , however, need to convince your Lady Murphy if you want to escape that shock collar any time soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And somehow when I aim for a Monday update I still end up updating on Tuesday. Wtf.


	22. My Lady's Wishes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lady Murphy was indeed a trick… but not in the way Miroku or Sesshoumaru expected.

The Lady Murphy was indeed a trick… but not in the way Miroku or Sesshoumaru expected.  She presided over her office with an iron gaze at great odds with her reputation for bad luck and klutz genes, blue eyes glinting as she assessed them both.

“So you’ve brought him here to… what, ask my permission to perv on someone during work hours?”  Sesshoumaru had to admit the mighty effort in took, keeping his ears from turning red. Miroku continued to grin unabashed at his side.  “Shinooka-kun, if you’ve got any sense of self-preservation, you will refrain from behavior worth  _ litigating _ against, do you hear me?”

He made the most exaggerated  _ le gasp _ face either doctor had ever laid eyes on.  “My dear Kagome-sama, what manner of beast do you think I am?”

“A tricky, conniving, outlandish one.”  The nurse pouted, and for once it wasn’t put on.  Not too much, anyway. Sesshoumaru was not ignorant to the… what, an amused  _ sparkle _ , was it?  No, Kagome’s eyes were sure enough glittering just a bit with signs of mirth.  “Shinooka-kun, this is a  _ direct order _ .  If Nishino-san doesn’t initiate, you are not to pursue this relationship any further.  Are we clear?”

In the most forlorn voice Sesshoumaru had ever heard, including childhood with Inuyasha and Rin’s desires for all the sugar she could never have, Miroku managed to reply, “Yes, ma’am.  As my lady wishes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear. I'm just going to move updates to Tuesday. Because I ALWAYS UPDATE ON TUESDAY. How is it that I can't hit Mondays?!
> 
> At any rate, I hope all of you are enjoying _Murphy's Law_ so far; we're almost through the first half! There will be a turning point to start connecting the dots soon, so I hope all of you will stick around for that. ;P The second half... I'm still not sure how the pacing will go. Darnit. But I know what's going to happen, and plot is full of plotty goodness, so I hope y'all will stick around for that.  <3


	23. Payback

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Whatever are you plotting?”

“Whatever are you plotting?”

Kagome was on the edge of maniacal laughter, and Sesshoumaru could surely see it now that Miroku had departed the room.

“Who said I was plotting?”  The muted glare of disbelief threatened to uncork all her carefully controlled giggles.  “Okay, I’m plotting.”

“Are you going to tell me why?”

“ _ Punishment _ ,” she replied in a voice most gleefully evil.  “Nishino and I were having coffee and she said something silly.  It’s just a bit of payback.”

Her boss, friend, more-than-just-friends? Glared at her suspiciously.  “You are complicating things.”

It couldn’t put a stop to the satisfied grin that accompanied the statement, “I am, yes.”

“You are called Murphy-sensei for a reason,” he reminded.

“Yes,” she confirmed.  “I occasionally spread around my consequences for others.  Life is more amusing when we’re all miserable together.”

“Never would have thought it of you,” he said cautiously.

The silence stretched a beat or two, where Kagome took long, satisfied draughts of her coffee — from one of the cups he’d purchased for her mistaken birthday, no less — before murmuring quietly, “Oh, I’m not  _ that _ vindictive and you know it.  They were going to be working at odd purposes sooner or later.  I told Shinooka-kun to wait until she initiated knowing he would be desperate to take  _ anything _ as initiation.  Sango-chan is having difficulty figuring out if he knows or doesn’t and probably thinks I’ve told him something, so she’ll be careless.  It’ll work out. You’ll see.”

There was another long, pregnant pause as Sesshoumaru considered her.

“And you called him tricky.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I say I'm switching to Tuesday, and then I FINALLY MAKE IT IN TIME FOR MONDAY. ... //shot


	24. Confounding Efforts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome may have more bad luck than a dozen broken mirrors and a scratch of black cats besides, but her intuition was on the nose with this one.

Kagome may have more bad luck than a dozen broken mirrors and a scratch of black cats besides, but her intuition was on the nose with this one.

Sango would bring him a cup of coffee, and Miroku would adamantly kiss her hand… to which Sango would blush and stutter like mad before retreating.  Miroku, poor bastard, would be sighs and puppy eyes for the remainder of the day, thinking perhaps he had overreacted to something that wasn’t ‘initiation’ after all… even though it was.

Sango would  _ bring _ him papers instead of leaving them in his mailbox.  Sango would return his forgotten cell phone. Sango would stop him from running nose-first into a wall because he was spaced out over her… and oh, oh,  _ oh _ the flirts that ensued, the debonair smiles, the seductive croons and confident swaggers.  Alas, Miroku did not seem to realize his attempts at being suave were unfortunately counterproductive.

“Would it kill you to chill out for a bit?” Inuyasha snapped — his version of advice over coffee.  Miroku whined from his place across the break room table, nose smushed to the Formica surface.

“I have no choice, my friend!  The Lady Murphy has forbidden me from initiating signs of courtship with my fair maid, and my love Sango has offered so many small gestures of sweetness.  They are confusing… no,  _ confounding _ ,” he stressed, “and am I to neglect such opportunities and never consider them advances?”

“Can’t you just spit it out and be done with it?” 

“I am absurdly certain that such would violate the terms set by the lovely Higurashi-sensei.”

“So?”

Miroku sighed deeply.  “My dear friend, do you not recall the training device I was bound to for so many weeks?  I’ve no wish to return to the days of bondage.”

Inuyasha was so very close to teasing him, remarking on how the nurse had started to take a masochistic sort of pleasure in the punishment… but he refrained.  Now really wasn’t the time for such humor.

Considering his best friend, and considering his own plans for his exceedingly stubborn brother, Inuyasha dragged Miroku closer by the nape and whispered in the most conspiratorial tone there ever was, “Well, what say we start a’scheming?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A double feature, special just for my watchers! The next one's important, so don't go away just yet. ;P


	25. Say Bye-Bye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a rare thing (actually, a first in their four-year acquaintance), but Sesshoumaru found his office occupied by a giggling Kagome who held a large bottle of vodka coquettishly to her chest.

It was a rare thing (actually, a first in their four-year acquaintance), but Sesshoumaru found his office occupied by a giggling Kagome who held a large bottle of vodka coquettishly to her chest.  She was rosy-cheeked and obviously drunk, but however alarming, he allowed her to remain in his chair and drink as she would. He wasn’t sure whether he’d ever hear what was going on, but eventually, she looked him in the eye and confessed all.

“My great-aunt Kaede died today.  She was my favorite relative outside my immediate family, and the only one that ever gave a damn about us,” she said frankly.   “I was both her favorite and her least favorite though; said I looked exactly like some other relative that disappeared years ago.  Ran off with a younger guy whose family thought she fell short of their snobby standards.”

Sesshoumaru tried not to show how the thought stung.  In multiple ways, so many ways, her story hurt. Kagome smiled at him kindly, eyes crinkling in a way that displayed the starting of crow’s feet at the corners.  His chest ached at the sight.

“I loved that old woman, Sess,” she said, calling him affectionately in a way he was sure would disappear with the alcohol in her system.  “She was a spunky old bat; some latent talent from her generation showed up in me, so she taught me how to really use my quirk.”

Kagome rambled on for hours, and Sesshoumaru sat and listened.  He heard so many stories of her childhood, so many failures and triumphs, that he could almost see it all coming to life in the woman before him.

In the wee hours of the morning she drifted off, and Sesshoumaru tucked her into one of the cots in the on-call room, settling on a chair by her side so that, at the very least, she would not be alone in the morning as she had been earlier in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys. How are your skills at connect-the-dots now? XD


	26. Timing It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was the most inglorious timing, but Inuyasha admitted — just a little — that now was not the moment to be plotting world-bending pranks.

It was the most inglorious timing, but Inuyasha admitted — just a little — that now was not the moment to be plotting world-bending pranks.

Kagome looked miserable.

She was pale in the face and had dark circles under her eyes… and though her attitude was no different than her usual, invincible tank of determination, she wasn’t quite as spunky as usual.  Rin patted her arm affectionately, and the doctor’s wan smile was hardly a comfort.  _ Well, damn. _

He wasn’t above dirty tricks, but  _ timing was everything _ .  

Her  _ Great-Aunt Kaede’s _ passing had her more affected than he’d expected, even after Sesshoumaru’s phone call.  Kagome was borderline family at this point, depending on whose perspective you took. Inuyasha sure as hell claimed her.  Rin did, too.

He’d never say it, but Kikyou had been  _ so happy _ those last days.  She’d been ready to claim Kagome, too.  With a thoughtful stir to his coffee, Inuyasha admitted he was glad he never told Rin the “How I met your mother” story.

“Hey, Kagome?”  She looked up at him, now deep in the dregs of her fifth cup of coffee.  “Y’ wanna come have a slumber party tonight? With Rin.”

“And you?”

“And Sesshoumaru.  He’d like it, too,” he admitted, scratching thoughtfully at the back of his head.  “‘Cause… y’know. Stuff.”

_ Because Kaede’s dead.  Because you need us. Because we want you. _  It wasn’t the most elegant plot to ever plot, but when her eyes smiled more than her mouth did, and she set the mug down to hug his little girl and pat his hand, Inuyasha knew this one was timed just perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. Why df is it so hard for me to remember to update on Monday? I remember on Sundays, and on Tuesdays, but never on Mondays. //shot
> 
> I had this chapter done, but somehow I completely forgot to post it Monday. here it is. I'll post the next one on Monday as planned so long as I don't forget, I swear. TTvTT


	27. We Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was more of a ghost in the halls than a tank, and she knew it. It was showing in how she interacted with the kids. Even the rowdy ones that normally took pride in giving her migraines were looking at her confusedly, wondering what happened to the unflappable Doc Murphy.

Kagome was distracted.

She was more of a ghost in the halls than a tank, and she knew it.  It was showing in how she interacted with the kids. Even the rowdy ones that normally took pride in giving her migraines were looking at her confusedly, wondering what happened to the unflappable Doc Murphy.

True, she was grieving.  Even more true was that she was somehow invited to a sleepover with her boss-not-boyfriend-but-more-than-friends.  Bossfriend? Was that a thing? Kagome took a moment to wonder which unlucky charm she’d committed to have this situation now upon her.  She was going, though; she was going to that damn sleepover, she was going to bury up in a room with them somewhere, in a pile of futons and duvet covers and pillows and sheets and — knowing Rin — stuffed animals.  Maybe she could take a day or two off, and just… marathon episodes of Supernatural or something. Maybe she could get in their kitchen and make the most sinfully delectable chocolate desserts yet known to mankind. Or omelets.  She could make omelets and get Inuyasha to eat something besides ramen for once. Maybe they would order an unconscionable amount of Chinese delivery. Sushi. Sushi was good.

No doodles on her files, no whoopee cushions in her chair, no ill-begotten parental wisdom could pull Kagome out of her daze. She drifted through the remainder of her shift with a strange and muted longing for the comfort of a pile of blankets and companions all about.

Miroku found that his schemes were wasted at the moment; not because he couldn’t pull them off or because he felt sorry enough to refrain, but simply because his Lady Liege would not — could not? — react.  An affectionate note in Sesshoumaru’s carefully-forged hand, a missing sweater, thrice the normal amount of sugar in her coffee… Miroku even dared to touch Sango as she stood next to him, a hand pressed to the small of her back despite the lack of instigation.

No reaction.

As Inuyasha came by for a late coffee break, Miroku protested the inattention.  “Kagome-sama has become a ghost, my friend. The neglect breaks my heart.”

Rin, who stood plaiting Inuyasha’s hair to calm her fidgets, said plainly, “Kagome-sensei is very sad right now.  You shouldn’t be mean to her.”

Aghast in his usual exaggerated way, Miroku lamented, “Be  _ mean _ ?  I would never!  T’was but a few small, affectionate pranks, Lady Rin… those should hardly be considered  _ mean _ .”

She looked at him with sullen, flat eyes that were a dead-ringer for Kagome’s ‘don’t screw with me’ face; for the first time, Miroku admitted that family ties did not have to exist before family resemblances.  Rin quietly continued to plait Inuyasha’s hair, electing to ignore him rather than correct him.

Inuyasha muttered quietly, “Well, I was plotting some stuff, too.  It wasn’t just him.”

Rin kept her imperious, disapproving glare.  This time, she leveled it at her father.

Inuyasha didn’t flinch, but he wasn’t above pouting.  “You want her as family don’t you?”

She nodded silently.

“You know how damn stubborn your uncle is, don’t you?”

More hesitantly, she nodded again.

Inuyasha hauled her into his lap, his long, silky hair slipping immediately out of the braiding.  Rin didn’t protest the handling and allowed herself to be tucked under her father’s chin. “Well, we may be plotting, sure… but if we want to keep her, we’re going to have to help those two along.”

Miroku silently repented his teasing and prayed that Murphy-sensei’s typical luck wouldn’t hold out for much longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S ON MONDAY. It's sad that I feel like celebrating just because I managed to be on time. TTvTT


	28. And God Laughs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was two hours late despite leaving thirty minutes early, and missing half her things even though she’d made a list and checked no less than five times.

She was two hours late despite leaving thirty minutes early, and missing half her things even though she’d made a list and checked no less than five times.  Kagome showed up on the stoop of Sesshoumaru’s large home covered in mud and red in the face from crying.

“Oh, you know how it is,” she said, not the least bit embarrassed at her trembling, hiccuping voice.  “I left to be early, but then the Uber got stuck in traffic. It was a dead stop for blocks on blocks, so I jumped out and decided to walk, but when I stopped to pay the driver someone stole one of my bags.  The policeman on the bike couldn’t catch him, and they told me to tell them what all was in the bag. Nothing traceable. Then a wheel snapped off my suitcase and I dropped my phone in a drift and it stopped working…”

Her lip wobbled horribly, and Sesshoumaru wasn’t sure if that was the end of the list or the beginning.  Instead of inquiring, he pulled the doctor inside and shut the door, hefting her bag out of her arms. She almost collapsed into him as she removed her shoes, too exhausted to stand.  He said nothing. There was nothing that  _ could _ be said, nothing to make it better.  Grief was what brought her here, but all the smaller irritations were exacerbating the issue.

Inuyasha appeared in the foyer and took off with Kagome’s suitcase to who-knew-where.  Rin silently came and hugged her around the waist. When the wobble in her legs proved walking to be a challenge, Sesshoumaru lifted her into his arms without a comment.

They had expected her to show up with her iron determination to get better.  The whole house had been waiting for her to barge in with irrational tears, eat gallons of ice-cream, yell indignantly at inane television shows and challenge them to meaningless games of chance that losers could be indignantly sore over.  

Instead, she rested in Sesshoumaru’s arms listlessly, eyes dull and vacant.  

There was a nest on the floor in the den, much like the one that had taken up her living room for several weeks.  It was full of flannel sheets and blankets, soft down comforters and piles upon piles of pillows, and yes, a good lot of stuffed animals in the softest minky that ever existed.  They didn’t bother with the television, or the stereo, or inane conversation. The small family simply tucked her in their midst; Rin under one arm, and the two men wrapped around her in mute solidarity.

For all their planned wildness, they found the silence no less comforting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas, Murphy-sensei has lived up to her name yet again.
> 
> Might be moving updates to Sunday after the holidays, just to keep things neat with school starting. More on that later.


	29. Old Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleep is the fuel of the Murphy Tank, apparently.

Sleep is the fuel of the Murphy Tank, apparently.  The next morning was met with great forcefulness as she ransacked their kitchen, cooked a feast, and proceeded to complain most comically about the previous day’s misadventures.  After breakfast Rin secured a promise to watch every Disney movie in their collection in chronological order; they were a scant hour into the first of said marathon when Kagome dropped off again, and out she stayed until noon.

The cycle then repeated.

As she dropped off in the middle of  _ Dumbo _ , a movie she claimed to adore, Sesshoumaru put in a call to Jaken and had him contact the doctors and nursing staff for the pediatrics unit.  Murphy-sensei was being placed on no less than three days rest, and even then he would monitor her condition. Personally. He was already carefully turning over the logistics in his head of how Inuyasha would get into her apartment for more of her things, what money it would take to replace the items that were stolen, how much hot chocolate and whip cream would be necessary, and quite possibly whether or not there was a masseuse in his acquaintance that would be willing to make a house call.

“Sesshoumaru-ojisama?”  He hummed in response to Rin’s muted whisper.  She tucked herself even closer under his arm, reaching out to pat Kagome’s head where it rested next to his thigh.  “Sesshoumaru-ojisama, aren’t you going to  _ keep _ Kagome-sensei?”

He stilled.  “Did… Inuya- your father, did he mention something?”

She pursed her lips.  “Just a little. Daddy’s never been good at secrets.”

Sesshoumaru’s hand had rested thoughtfully on Kagome’s arm when he wasn’t paying attention, and he considered it ruefully.  “Rin, I decided a very long time ago — when your father was still but an infant — that I would never take a partner for myself.  I could not.”

“You  _ can _ , you just  _ won’t _ he says.”

“Rin, I cannot.”

She pursed her lips, but the way her eyes watered wasn’t false, nor was it the fault of the movie in the background.  She turned back to the screen but quietly insisted, “You  _ can _ .  And you should.  And… and you don’t have time to waste, you know.  None of us do.”

He ached looking at her, and wished for once that her body looked as old as her soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am indeed going to switch my upload dates to Sunday; it's easier to remember and will coincide with other due dates nicely. =v=
> 
> Can't wait for y'all to read the next chapter. I just know I'm going to wish for video recordings of all your reactions. *v*


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